I grow some vegetables in my backyard. Last year I was involved in a community garden at work, but someone stole some of my produce
I grow tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, capsicums (bell peppers in America). I tried onions, but my onion patch flooded - I think it rotted the bulbs and weeds invaded and took them over.
I'm not an expert (I'm struggling to control the weeds in my lawn!) but from trial and error what I found works really good is to a) raise the garden bed up a little from the surrounding area or plant on top of a mound - so water runs off rather than runs in, and b) use a weed cloth and cut little holes for where you plant - like this:
Most of the effort use to be weeding, but the weed cloth really made things simpler that I haven't had to weed this year. Apart from first planting them (digging holes, putting the sprout in, filling it with soil, and covering it with mulch) the only maintenance is watering them if it hasn't rained for about 3 days straight, and spraying them with insect repellent every 2nd weekend (otherwise bugs eat the leaves).
My father in Australia grows many different types of vegetables (eggplants, zucchinis, broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, lots of herbs) - and he's lived in the same region his whole life so he knows what grows in each season and when the best time to start them. He and my sister love the idea of cooking with fresh produce.